It Started With A Wedding
by LaSkepticalWriter
Summary: Adult life is difficult, but the love makes it worth it. When Magenta and Zach get married, how is it that Warren meets someone new?
1. Just your average day

**Hello, lovely Readers! Hopefully, if you've stumbled upon this, you're interested in Sky High, it's become one of my favorites as of lately. Anyway, this idea kind of stalked me for a while and I finally decided to give it a shot. This is going to be more than one chapter, but I highly doubt it will end up very long. That being said, I'd really like some input so that I know whether or not I'm keeping people in character, and whether or not I'm just screwing things up. So, reviews would help, or something!**

**Disclaimer: I don't even own myself, let alone these characters!**

**It Started With A Wedding**

Chapter 1- Just your average day

"The Commander was the best superhero ever."

"But he wouldn't have been anything without Jetstream."

"Their son was the best!

The teacher stood at the front of the room, her ears peeled as she listened to the shouted responses of her students. Debating had always been something she thought helped the students quite a bit. It was a time where they could all participate, and she did expect every student to participate in the debate. Her arms were braced behind her, against her desk, with her legs stretched out, crossed at the ankle as she listened.

"But what about their son's wife, she was amazing, she could control plants!"

"That's a lame power!"

"Don't insult the power of others, Bobby."

The teacher spoke up, her voice completely authorative, and her eyes serious, focused soley upon the student in question.

"Sorry, Ms. Warren."

The teacher, Ms. Warren, stepped away from her desk, gathering the attention of the students around her. Her bright red hair pulled to a tail at the nape of her neck, she tucked a few strays behind her ear as she paced a few inches before stopping.

"You all have opinions on who the best superhero is, and no one has the right to take your opinion from you, but...I ask you this: Why are you selecting the hero that you are? Is there a certain reasoning behind it?"

Her voice seemed smooth and rolling. Her accent, obviously British, pleasing to the ears and easily able to control the attention of every student in her classroom. She pointed to Bobby.

"Who do you think is the best superhero and why, Bobby?"

"That's easy! The Commander!"

Ms. Warren smiled and tilted her head.

"Why?"

"Because he's strong!"

Ms. Warren smiled and crossed her arms, taking a few steps.

"But what does strength have to do with you dubbing him the best superhero?"

"Uh...that's his power, he's got an awesome power!"

She turned back towards Bobby, pointing at him with a smile.

"You have a power. Why aren't you the best superhero?"

Bobby looked confused and dumbfounded for a moment.

"I'm not a superhero."

"Are you going to be?"

"Yeah!"

Ms. Warren smiled.

"Then why aren't you given yourself the title ahead of time? Do you not think you'll be the best superhero?"

Bobby stopped, and thought, the whole class seemed to be enrapt with attention to what the woman was saying. His face was screwed up in concentration, his brows knitted together as he grasped his lip between his teeth, trying to come up with the answer.

"Because...he's the best, he's a hero!"

"But why is he a hero?"

A girl in the back of the room raised her hand and Ms. Warren nodded to her.

"He's saved people! He's taken down lots of villains, and he's good!"

Ms. Warren nodded.

"Yes, but there are normal people out in the world, those who are powerless that do the exact same thing, but not on the same scale. Why aren't they heroes?"

"Because they're not taking down villains with superpowers or saving the world!"

A boy from the back of the room piped up, looking as if the idea that an average person could be a hero was disgusting.

"But power has nothing to do with the choices one makes. Just because villains and heroes have powers doesn't mean they have to use them."

Ms. Warren offered offhandedly, as a tall girl in the front of the room scoffed.

"If we have power, we use it. It's a part of us!"

"Yes," Ms. Warren offered and then tilted her head, gesturing with her right hand," Our powers are a part of us, but that doesn't mean we have to use them constantly, nor does it mean that we're anything more than human. A superhero can die just the same as a civilian, so what makes a superhero better than an average person? And what makes a superhero the best? Is there really a superhero that is better than any of the others?"

The class seemed to freeze at her words, silent for a few moments, contemplating what she was saying. She took that moment to savor the fact that each and every student seemed to be thinking and digesting what was coming from her.

"Very few superheroes work alone. Normally there are pairs. What makes one partner better than the other?"

"More power!"

A student seated in the middle of the class offered.

"Perhaps, but every power has a weakness. Superheroes have partners to balance that out, to have someone behind them, someone to help. Sidekicks, or another hero, it just depends, but those powers are meant to be balanced out to cover a larger scope."

The teacher peered at the clock and smiled.

"Your homework for the weekend," The students all seemed to grumble," is to read the chapter over superhero partnering in the book, and to choose a pair in the superhero world and analyze how they work together, paying attention to their weaknesses seperately and how the other balances that out."

Ms. Warren finished the instruction exactly as the bell rang and smiled.

"Have a lovely weekend everyone, be safe."

That had been her last class of the day, and school had just let out for the weekend. It was going to be lovely to relax for the three day weekend. She couldn't wait to settle down on her couch and just watch the new movie that she'd rented the day before. There was a smile on her face as she gathered the tests she'd given out the morning and the papers that had been turned in by her third period class as well. She put them neatly into their folders before slidding those into her satchel, and taking her jacket out of the cabinet, sliding it on over her clothes and straightening it, jumping slightly as the speakers crackled.

"Attention teachers, please make your way to the staff room for a quick meeting."

Quirking a brow, Elizabeth Warren sighed. She really didn't want to go to a staff meeting right now, but she knew she had to. Sliding her satchel over her shoulder and scooping her keys up off of her desk, she made her way out, locking the door, her boots clicking against the floor in the hallway as she quickly made her way into the staff room, dreading being in the school longer than necessary when she was tired and needed the break. The room was already slightly full, so she stood in the back, leaning against the wall calmly.

It was only a few moments before Principal Powers wandered in, a look of worry across her face. It was then that Elizabeth realized that Coach Boomer was nowhere to be found. Surely he hadn't taken a sick day? That man was notorious for always being at the school. He wasn't that elderly yet! Pricipal Powers cleared her throat and the staff room silenced immediately.

"Coach Boomer has decided that it's time he took his leave, he's decided to retire."

"He isn't even old enough is he?"

Mr. Boy asked curiously.

"He's old enough."

Principal Powers stated with a sigh.

"When is his last day?"

The Mad Science teacher, Medulla, asked curiously, scratching his large cranium.

"Today, apparantly."

"That's inconvenient, what're you going to do about replacing him?"

Elizabeth piped up curiously, far from shy.

"I'm going to look actively for a new teacher for his classes, but until then, I'm going to have people take over his gym classes on their prep periods."

Elizabeth held in the groan that she wanted to let out. She was going to give other teachers his classes, thus taking away some of the downtime that many of the teachers needed. Elizabeth was praying that she wouldn't be one of those that had to take over for the loud coach.

"I've already figured out who is taking the class during what period. Elizabeth, I know you're not a fan of the class, but I've got you supervising his classes both third and sixth periods."

Elizabeth tuned out everything else that the woman said as she stepped forward to take the packet of information that Principal Powers was offering her. Elizabeth knew that she wasn't the only teacher that had two prep periods, but she normaly worked in the office on one of them, and she'd rather do that any day, but luck was not on her side! Bloody hell! Elizabeth quickly began to scan the papers that were given to her and she went wide eyed. The dumb cow was giving her the problem classes! Elizabeth waited until the older woman had finished and dismissed everyone until she placed the papers on the table int he staff room, crossing her arms.

"Why on Earth would you have me supervising the problem classes? Half of these students get detention every other day! And they're powerful!"

She fumed. The woman looked too calm, and Elizabeth wasn't happy.

"I put you in charge of those particular classes because your power, Elizabeth. You'll have the least amoutn of problem if they're misbehaving. I'm sorry, but you have to understand where I'm coming from."

Elizabeth sighed and gave a slight nod, picking up the papers again and rubbing her forehead.

"Bloody hell, if you weren't my mum's best friend I wouldn't be half as nice to you."

Both women smiled.

"You have the weekend to prepare, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks, I hope you're right."

Principal Powers smiled as she clapped Elizabeth on the shoulder. She bade the older woman goodbye and made her way out of the school quickly. She was glad that she had a car to travel back in forth, rather than carpooling as some of the other teachers did. She didn't think she could have been able to deal with hearing everyone complain about taking over gym classes, especially when she'd be taking two of them. Her ride home was filled with thoughts about taking over the gym class for two periods, she was dreading it. She would not dwell with her down time, though! She was going to enjoy her rented movie and lounge about!

Elizabeth's plan sounded so good. When she got home, she dropped her satchel into the chair that she didn't sit in much and moved to her answering machine, seeing that it had three messages. She groaned at the thought of who'd left them and pressed play as her blonde shitzu, Teddy, came running up to rub himself against her legs. She laughed and picked him up, petting him happily as she waited for the messages to play.

_"Hey, Little Bit, I know you're probably at school because it's only...like three, but anyway, Da wanted me to call you and see if you were going to come tomorrow for his birthday dinner. He's all in a tizzy, love, so please don't ignore him or he'll make me call about fifty thousand more times. Morgan wants to see her aunty, anway. Everyone wants to see you, and I think Bridgett invited people too, and she said something about wanting you to meet someone. Call me as soon as you get this--Darling, I'm on the phone, wait a moment, please--Love you, Little Bit."_

There was a distinct click as his message ended and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. She'd go, even if was only to see her brother and his family. She didn't care much about her step mother wanting her to meet someone, but she'd be civil. Teddy nuzzled the woman's arm as the next message began.

_"You're never home when you should be, darling. This is your mother! I know you have your father's birthday party tomorrow, but do you think you could stop by my house beforehand, please? Love you, Lizzie."_

The woman frowned and lifted a brow. Why on Earth had she gotten so many phone calls from her family while she was at work. Normally it was every few weeks that she heard from them, and never in such a horde. Elizabeth put Teddy down as he ran in a circle around her, the next message beginning.

_"Izz! It's Zach! I need your help! You know my wedding is Sunday! I really need your help! Please call me back! Please! Please!"_

Elizabeth quirked her eyebrow at her step brother's message and made a sound in the back of her throat as she picked up the phone, dialing his number and putting the phone against her ear as she made her way towards the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of water. After a moment someone picked up.

"Izz?"

"Yes, Zach, it's me. What on Earth was that message about, man?"

He sounded far more spazzed and hyper than usual, and Elizabeth was dreading what he wanted from her. She was already going to his wedding, it wasn't as if that was what he could want. She didn't know what he was getting worked up for, but knowing him it was probably something trivial.

"One of Magenta's bridesmaids can't make it to the wedding!"

He was positively hysterical. Elizabeth rubbed her forehead. Why was he loading this onto her?

"What am I supposed to do about this dilema, love?"

She asked calmly. Zach grew quiet. She knew he wanted something, but she wasn't sure what.

"Would you please fill in? She's the same size and everything and Magenta knows you and would have picked you, but...her friend...and now her friend is away and... Please?"

"Zach, how do you know she's my size?"

He was quiet and sheepish.

"I asked your dad, and he asked your brother, and he asked your mom."

"Brilliant. How exactly do you know said dress will fit me, Zach? Can't you just leave out one of your grooms men?"

He sounded shocked at the idea, and Elizabeth groaned. She knew she'd have to do this regardless. She knew this was the reason that her mum had called, and her brother. They were all going to gang up on her for the sake of her step brother's wedding.

"No I can't! They're all good friends. Please? Magenta's been upset that she can't have her friend in it, but you're my sister, please, Izz?"

Elizabeth hated the pleading tone, and she hated the fact that he knew exactly what to say to get her to agree.

"Oi, calm down, I suppose I can do that... When can I pick up the dress and everything?"

She sighed.

"Can you pick it up now, we've got a rehearsal dinner tonight!"

He was far too excited about this.

"I swear, if you weren't so desperate I'd leave you hanging just to hear you squealing, love. Where am I picking up the dress from, and where is the rehearsal dinner?"

"My house, and you can follow me!"

He sounded so excited. This was not going to be fun, though. Elizabeth sighed and peered at the clock. How soon could he be expecting her?

"What time is said rehearsal dinner?"

She was peering at her wrist watching wondering exactly how long she'd have to be by her onesies and relax until she had to do the honorable and nice thing.

"It's at six, but you should come on over that way we know that the dress fits, and I can fill you in, and Magenta wants to thank you, and I want to thank you and--"

"Zack, darling, calm down. You're speaking far too fast for me to understand you. I'll come on over, though, just calm down."

He sighed, and Elizabeth could hear him. She almost wanted to laugh at him because he was so overwhelming and hyper at times. She didn't know how others handled him all the time. She could only be glad that she was older than him and that she wasn't around him all that often, he'd drive her batty!

"Magenta said there are shoes for your dress too. She just hopes they're the right size!"

"All right, I'll be over, but remember, love, you owe me. Ta!"

Elizabeth hung the phone up and groaned before uncapping her water and chugging half of it right then and there. She then proceeded to let Teddy out and back in before making her way over to Zach's flat. She couldn't believe that she'd been wormed into this. Why had she agreed? Because they would have all ganged up on her either way. She knew her parents well enough. Even if they weren't together they were still great friends. Then there was Bridgett, Zach's mother. She would have hounded. They all would have. That's why it was a horrible thing that her family was all connected in odd ways, at times. Either way, she was stuck helping whether she'd really wanted to or not.

* * *

The rehearsal dinner was quite different. Elizabeth and Magenta were both glad that the shoes and dress fit quite well, especially the bride to be. Then, at the rehearsal dinner it was discovered that all of the grooms men, save for one, couldn't be there due to their other duties. It wasn't very difficult to figure out that they were all superheroes, or hero support. Elizabeth was introduced to Ethan, who was much shorter than her. That was when all hell broke loose. The moment Magenta and Layla, the maid of honor, discovered that Elizabeth was that much taller than Ethan, they began to panic.

Layla was worrying her lip as Magenta fumed. The woman even muttered that Ethan needed another growth spurt. It was all quite hilarious to Elizabeth as she and the other bridesmaid stood there watching. The two had been whispering back and forth, amused at what was going on.

"Do you suppose that they're going to ask him to grow more, or ask me to attempt shrinking myself?"

Elizabeth chuckled at the idea, and Ashlee, the other bridesmaid, giggled at the thought.

"This isn't funny!"

Layla was grinning even as she got after the two of them. Then, she stopped a second and studied the red headed woman, staring up at her.

"How tall are you, Elizabeth?"

"I'm just a tad shy of five feet eleven inches."

The teacher shrugged after thinking about it, she'd had to do a quick conversion, quite like many of her students did. Layla grinned and then turned back to Magenta.

"We could switch her and Ashlee! Warren is at least six feet tall! He won't be too short for her or look funny!"

Ashlee just shrugged and Magenta seemed deep in thought.

"As long as the bloke you're pairing me with isn't dodgey or an all together slimeball it doesn't make a difference to me."

Elizabeth offered. Magenta grinned and nodded.

"You're going to have to be escorted by Warren, I can't have Ethan escorting someone so much taller than him. Ash, I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all!"

After that was solved, things ran smoothly, other than the fact that two of the wedding party weren't there, but they'd get briefed before the wedding. Elizabeth wasn't worried about it all that much. She and Ashlee had actually hit it off rather well, though that didn't mean Elizabeth didn't like Magenta or Layla any less. She knew the two of them, vaguely. She knew more of Magenta, considering she and Zach had been dating for some time.

Of course, Elizabeth had only met a few of Zach's friends, what with her having already graduated when her father had married his mother. Zach was younger than her, and he'd been more open to her than she'd been to him, but after a year or so, she'd decided he ewasn't goin anywhere, so her brother and her had decided to be nice to him. Brett had been a bit more difficult, considering he already had a fully established life, but he and Zach got along well now as well. Bridgett was lovely as well, though sometimes she and Elizabeth butted heads, they were still family. All in all it was a rather normal family, really. Elizabeth hadn't been around enough to get to know Zach's friends either way, she'd been busy getting more schooling. She'd known she wanted to teach.

She knew her step brother had picked great friends, though. The way they were all here for him at the moment, and they way they were all happy for the wedding. She knew that he'd picked wisely. She was all too happy to have supper with those that had been at the rehearsal dinner. It was a nice way to wind down the night, even though she had originally planned on watching a rented video while eating a tv dinner. This was better. The conversation was amicable and pleasant. It was obvious that the group was mainly friends, and then Elizabeth, who felt slightly out of place, but was smiling and happy either way.

Before long the group seperated, going to their seperate homes. Elizabeth made it home and was greeted happily by Teddy. She wasted no time in hanging up the dress and leaving the shoes to set out and then changing into her pyjamas, mainly a pair of flannel pants and a tank top. She even settled down and turned ont he tellie while she graded papers. After a bit of time, she just put the papers aside and watched the television quietly, her dog sleeping on her legs.

The lights were off and things were quiet, save for the low buzz of the television's volume. That was how she fell asleeping, and she was woken up the next morning by Teddy pouncing onto her face, which wasn't normal for the small dog. The day continued much like that. Even at her mother's house and her father's birthday, things were surprises and rather strange. Her mother had wanted to tell her about the man that had been attempting to court her, and had spent an hour telling her about how wonderful it would be if she'd find a decent man and give her some grand children.

* * *

Then, at her father's party, Bridgett had invited the son of one of her friends. He'd obviously been told about her, but not the other way around. He'd spent the first hour of the party following her around like a puppy, and had managed to spill soda down her front, which caused her to have to borrow a top from Bridget, and then he'd accidently run into her with a piece of cake in his hand and had gotten cake on Bridgett's top. After that he'd left, but Liz had borrowed a t-shirt from her father, deciding that would be harder to harm.

After the clumsy, would-be beau had left, Liz got to speak with her brother, his wife, and their little girl, who wanted to hang all over her aunt. Elizabeth didn't mind, though, and she spent quite some time playing with her niece, until the poor girl had gotten tuckered out and fallen asleep in her mom's lap. That was when the party had ended. Sophie, Elizabeth's niece, had to be soothed and wouldn't leave until she had multiple promises that 'Aunt Lizzie' would be visiting soon and that she'd see her again.

That night was more settled than the previous and Elizabeth watched her movie and finished grading papers. She knew the next day she'd have very little time.

The next day started out quickly. Elizabeth had to get up and head over to help with some last minute touch ups on the location, and she helped with several other errands. She was a rather good go-to lady half of the time. Zach had her running a few errands, and made her help him tie his tie, and this was all before she'd gotten into her own dress. By the time she'd done that, she could hear someone huffing in the hallway outside of the bride's room.

"Who the hell is stomping out there?"

Magenta groused as Layla worked on her hair. Ashlee shrugged, touching up her make up while Elizabeth was zipping herself up and putting on her shoes, almost ready to do her own hair and make up.

"Should I check?"

She asked, buckling her shoe. Ashlee shook her head.

"I'll check!"

She smiled, ruffling her curly, blonde locks. The other three smiled and continued what they were doing as she slipped out of the room, finding Warren Peace in the hallway.

"Why did you switch your escort?"

He grumbled at the blonde.

"Ethan is too short to escort the other bridesmaid, we had to get her to fill in last minute and we had to be sure that it didn't look funny, duh."

She said with a smile as she fixed his tie, and he swatted at her hands with a glower.

"I don't want to escort her, I don't know her! She's probably some idiot that'll hit on me the whole time."

He complained with a frown. Ashlee snorted at the thought of that.

"Trust me, this girl is going to leave you alone. She's Zach's step sister, and she's older than him, she's nothing but nice."

Warren just glared at the door and shrugged, stomping off, not happy with his friends for changing things. He didn't care for change. He could deal with escorting his ex-girlfriend for the wedding since they were friends, but someone he didn't know? How would he be sure that she wasn't going to be wacky? He didn't! He had those thoughts coursing through him as he helped Will and Ethan keep Zach from pacing too much, which meant he was threatening to fry his friend while the other two laughed.

The wedding party seemed to be calm, for the most part, other than Sophie, who had screamed and ran at Elizabeth the moment she'd caught sight of her, hugging the woman's leg, which had caused a laugh. That was the most excitement before the wedding It was when the wedding started that things hyped up, for lack of better wording.

Zach seemed to be bouncing at the altar, waiting for Magenta. Little Sophie practically skipped down the aisle, throwing the flowers everywhere, and Elizabeth was fairly certain she saw Layla wince at that. The wedding party was ready, though Elizabeth hadn't even said a word to her escort. She'd heard his complaining, and she wasn't going to bother him other than being in the wedding. She didn't notice the way he was staring at her in the dark purple dress, though, not once during the wedding did she notice, though his smoldering gaze was on her half of the time.

The wedding went off without one hitch, and Zach looked happy, as did Magenta. Elizabeth was happy for them. She was glad that she'd agreed to help, especially when she saw the two smiling at one another. The only thing that was a little off-putting was the fact that she had a little girl at her side constantly. Morgan and Brett seemed to not have one problem with her watching Sophie, seeing as Sophie was watching her like a hawk and sticking to her side like she was glued there. All through dinner, and even now that people were dancing, she was stuck there.

"Aunt Lizzie! Dance with me!"

Sophie was hyper too. Elizabeth smiled and obliged the child, though. she didn't see any other way to go about it. She spent a few dances with Sophie, until a slow dance came on, and Elizabeth barely talked the girl into resting, and it was then that her father swooped her up to slow dance with his baby girl. Elizabeth was glad too, and she offered her brother a smile.

It wasn't that she didn't love being around her niece, or that she was tired. She was used to being on the go, but having a hyper child around for that long was a bit nervewracking and she wanted to people watch a bit, and enjoy herself. She'd only been seated a few moments before Ethan asked her to dance, and she grinned, and obliged, even though she ended up leading it was a lovely dance. The two were laughing by the end of it.

"Lovely dance, Ethan, I must say, I don't think I've had that much fun dancing in some time."

Elizabeth joked, nudging his shoulder. He just grinned. Ashlee rushed over to steal him for the next dance, and Liz was all too glad to let them both go, she didn't make it back to her table, though, she was stopped by none other than Warren Peace. Tilting her head she stopped, wondering why he'd stood in her path.

"Would you like to dance?"

He asked in a low voice, mumbling. Elizabeth hadn't caught it and she blinked.

"Pardon me?"

She asked, and she was fairly certain that he growled.

"Would you like to dance?"

It came out almost like a growl and Elizabeth was amused. She just nodded, and walked with him to the dance floor. He placed a hand on her waist and grabbed her other hand, surprisingly gentle, though he looked anything but. They swayed, their bodies moving slowly with the song.

"So, Mr. Peace, I hope I have harassed you too much."

She teased. A look flittered across his face. He went from amusement to anger in a few seconds.

"You heard me?"

He glared at her. She only smiled and nodded.

"You weren't exactly whispering the conversation."

She informed him.

"So you listened to it because I wasn't whispering?"

He grumbled. She laugned.

"We could all hear you without attempting to listen in."

She stated honestly with a shrug, feeling his hand heating up. He was glaring at her.

"Would you like this dance to be over?"

He looked confused.

"Huh?"

"Your hand is heating up, Mr. Peace, I assume it's because you're getting upset. Would you like this dance to be over to avoid getting upset?"

He was obviously hearing her wrong. Was she serious?

"I can control myself!"

He hissed. She had no change in her demeanor.

"I don't believe that I stated otherwise, did I? I merely asked if you wanted to stop the dance because I seem to anger you without meaning to do so."

He just stared at her. She was an odd woman, but there was something about the red head. He was quite for several long moments.The dance had shifted into a faster paced song, and Warren hadn't released her yet.

"Mr. Peace?"

That knocked him out of his thoughts and he shook his head, smirking a bit.

"Warren."

Elizabeth blinked and tilted her head to the right.

"Pardon?"

"My name is Warren."

Liz smiled at him and nodded.

"Elizabeth, or any shortening thereof."

She grinned at him, utterly amused. They actually spent a bit of time talking, seeing as Sophie had fallen asleep, and the reception had been dying down. It was calm when Zach and Magenta left, and things were quiet. The two talked about many different things, though she figured out quickly that he had a different sense of humor about him, and that he wasn't the most talkative person, it had to be coerced out of him, that and he was quick to temper. They'd discussed literature a bit, and several other topics before realizing that they both needed to leave, seeing as everyone else was in the process.

He didn't bother to help her with her coat or anything else, and she hadn't planned on asking. Neither of them seemed to think anything of what would be considered polite. Hell, neither of the two thought about asking the other for phone numbers either. It was amusing, but obvious that the two would be fairly well suited.

"Good night, Mr. Peace."

She teased as she got into her car and drove home. Maybe Zach had much better taste in friends than she thought! She probably wouldn't see many of them again, but she had to give him that little prop. That and the fact that she'd had an amusing, intelligent conversation that night and was all too happy to return home. Who knew if the two would ever see one another again... Hopefully they would, but maybe they wouldn't. Only time would tell.

Either way, that night Elizabeth Warren had met a man who was utterly fascinating and he could keep up with her. And Warren Peace had met a woman who wasn't typical...and that was saying something!


	2. Cousins

**Hello again, I thought I'd go ahead and get this second chapter out, I don't think it'll be much longer than five chapters, if it reaches that... I'm going to take the lack of any input that I'm not butchering any characters all that much. I hope everyone enjoys this!**

**It Started With A Wedding**

**Chapter 2- Cousins**

The last day of Elizabeth's three day weekend passed far too quickly for her liking. She would have loved to spend more time lying about and doing absolutely nothing, but she knew that wasn't a possiblity, no matter what she wanted. She spent a good amount of time preparting for her added classes, making sure that she knew which students would be in said classes, and what had been done so far in the classes. She had never liked the way that they were taught. Save the Citizen was an idiotic game, but it had it's purposes, the whole point should have been to get everyone involved rather than to have one group holding the title of undefeated. She had some plans to impliment.

By the time her third period class rolled around Tuesday, she felt as if she were prepared to face the class, she was looking at the class much like she did her others. She wanted to make a difference to them, even if it was in the way of them using their powers rather than intelligence. She felt prepared. She'd been sure to wear flats that would give her easier movmement, and she'd worn something that looked professional while giving her room to move around.

Walking into the Gym, Elizabeth pulled her jacket off, earning a few catcalls, which she promptly ignored. She had her clipboard in her other hand and took another look at it. This might not be too difficult, she hoped. She wanted to get through with teaching the Gym classes, there just wasn't anything that was appealing about them to her. She wasn't a physical person most of the time, she relied much more on her mental capabilities.

"All right, settle down."

She raised her voice, the authority oozing from her. If there was one thing she knew how to do it was to keep a class under control. Though, these students were still speaking a bit, not bothering to even look at her.

"Pardon me, do you have something to say that's more important than my lesson?"

"Uh...no?"

One of the boys that had been speaking said, and he sounded as if he were amused, the smirk on his face obvious.

"Good, now hush up, I only have a bit to say before we can get started."

She stated evenly, looking down at her clipboard. She didn't even have a moment, she heard one of the girls mocking her accent. She only smiled and turned to the girl.

"I take it you find something about the way I speak amusing, Miss Delvers?"

"Yeah, you sound like a priss."

Elizabeth quirked a brow and crossed her arms, the clipboard dangling from one hand.

"Very well, you're entitled to your opinion, but do you think you could avoid disrupting class and mock me later?"

The girl looked shocked that Elizabeth had come off with that instead of seeming all that offended. She just nodded obviously confused.

"Good. I'm sure you've already realized that Coach Boomer isn't returning, the classes have been split amongst the teachers each period. I happen to have this period and sixth."

"For how long?"

A tiny boy toward the back asked without raising his hand. He was actually in one of her other classes, his name was Paul.

"Until Pricipal Powers can find a suitable replacement. For now, you're stuck with me. I've made a few changes, though. I don't believe that the way Save the Citizen has been operated in the past is very efficient or beneficial, so I've taken the liberty of organizing a tournament and giving you partners that balance the strengths and weaknesses."

"Why can't we pick our own partners?"

A larger boy complained, crossing his chubby arms in defiance. Elizabeth only smiled.

"You, being students, are more inclined to just pick friends as partners. That isn't going to have the best choice, considering the fact that your friends' abilities won't always compliment your's, nor will they always be helpful. Learning to deal with someone that you may or may not get along with to blance out your abilities is the best course of action."

Liz explained confidently. She proceeded to name off all of the pairs, and as expected, she recieved repulsion, among other things. The students were all complaining, though two took it a bit further. They were supposed to be partners and instead of dealing with that, they began to argue, and it was an uproar. One boy's fist was drawn back, preparing for a punch, and Elizabeth acted quickly, sweeping her left hand out and tilting it to the side slightly with a small wave, both boys freezing in their spot. The other students were surprised and shocked.

"What did you just do?"

"Stopped that lot from fighting."

She stated simply as she moved over to the boys she pushed them further apart physically, the whole classing watching with enrapt attention. Elizabeth had pushed them far enough apart that no one would be getting hurt and then she stepped back from the two as they unfroze, the boy who'd been drawing back springing forward and overshooting himself seeing as he had no one to hit, he hit the ground with a thud.

"There will be no fighting in this class that has nothing to do with Save the Citizen. That's detention for you Mr. Handler, as well as you Mr. Bertram. Both of you have a seat on those benches," Elizabeth pointed to the benches in question," I'll escort you after class has finished."

There were several more hitches in the class, but nothing to the severity of the two partners attemtping to fight one another. There were a few arguments, a few tears, and a few teams that were very unhappy, but Elizabeth had gotten through her first day of teaching the class, and she was happy with the way things had turned out. It hadn't gone too horribly.

As she was escorting the two boys to the detention room, she recieved several looks, though she didn't bother to acknowledge them. She was far too busy speaking with the boys about their behavior. Her blue eyes focused back and forth on each boy.

"You won't always be in a situation where the person you'll work with will be someone you get along with fine and dandy. You have to be able to put your differences aside, and you definitely need to learn when to pick your fights, gents."

She told them as her parting words as she ushered the two of them into the detention room.

"Remember that, and think about the fact that I paired everyone up for a reason, your powers and specialties should balance one another out, you could both use that to an advantages rather than being dunderheads about it. Think on that, and I'll see you both in class tomorrow."

Elizabeth offered as her parting words as she headed towards her own classroom, the bell ringing moments before she entered. Her arrival seemed to hush the class instantly, a large group of students gathered around Patrick Lopez's desk. The sophomore class stared at the red haired teacher as if seeing her in a new light and finding her something possibly dangerous. She offered a smile.

"Why are we all gathered at Mr. Lopez's desk, might I ask?"

"Just reading something, Ms. Warren."

Elizabeth cocked a brow and tilted her head at hearing that. This class complained about her assigning homework to read, they obviously weren't inclined to do so of their free will all that often, so it caused her to wonder just what they were studying exactly.

"All right, Mr. Lopez, what have you brought in that's so attention grabbing?"

Elizabeth said, approaching the desk, the other students scattered quickly, going to their desks. Patrick looked a little green, as if he were going to be sick, and Elizabeth smiled.

"Uh... I've...it's...paper."

"Paper?"

He gave a nod and held up a section of the newspaper, which caused the teacher to laugh as she held out her hand and he placed it there. She moved back to the front of the room, placing the paper on her desk.

"You can pick that up before you leave. Now, does anyone have questions about the chapter I instructed you to read?"

Silence enveloped the room, and she knew that none of them had read the chapter.

"How many people actually read the chapter?"

Elizabeth asked warily. Two people raised their hands. The red head groaned and rubbed her forehead, this was going to be a long day.

"All right, I'm giving you twenty minutes to read the chapter, Marisa and Bethany, you two may work on other homework or whatever you'd like while the others are reading the chapter. AT the end of twenty minutes we're going to have a discussion about the chapter, so retain what you read, please."

Elizabeth sat down at her desk and took attendence quickly before having a look at the section of the newspapter that Patrick had brought it. The picture there was probably what had them all in a tizzy. She was right there in the local section. Pictures of Zach's wedding littered the page, but three of them obviously stuck out. There was a picture of Warren escorting her down the aisle, then one of them dancing, and finally one of them talking at one of the tables, and Elizabeth seemed to be laughing while Warren smirked.

Elizabeth had forgotten that sometimes the local reporters enjoyed getting pictures from weddings for the papers. It didn't matter either way. She was quiet as she read the article that was congratulating Zach and Magenta. The captions on the pictures stated nothing other than the names and the fact that they were in the wedding party. The fact that the kids were so enrapt with attention at this was a little strange.

Studying the picture of herself, Elizabeth had to hold in a laugh. She was wearing a dark purple dress with a cap sleeve and a v-neck, it didn't hug the curves too tightly, though. It actually pulled away from the waist and was ankle length. Her hair had been done simplly in a french twist. She couldn't understand why this would be a big deal, unless it was the fact that she was in the paper and pictured with Warren Peace. She knew his past reputation, but he was also a hero nowadays. His father might have been a Villian, but Warren definitely balanced that out for himself. He was far from evil.

She decided to ignore the fact that the students seemed to be fascinated with the article, or something in it. She continued on with her class, going over the lesson on the possibilities of utilizing both strengths and weaknesses and taking those strengths and weaknesses and examining them.

The class passed quickly, the whole day did, though there were several jibes directed at Elizabeth, which she ignored. Even a few of her fellow teachers had decided that the picture was something that was amusing and something that was worth of their attention. It was rather annoying.

"You should wear dresses more often, Elizabeth, you've got a great figure, I'm sure students would pay more attention."

That was one smart comment that she'd gotten from the arse that taught in the mathematics area. Elizabeth was quite adept at ignoring the stupidity of others, though. She was able to ignore it all.

The next two weeks continued similarly, and it was annoying, but tolerable. She was glad for another weekend, though. Her weekends were almost always very calm and serene. She tended to stick to herself when she was at home on the weekends. From time to time she'd go out or she'd go to dinner with one her her parents, sometimes she even went to Brett's house for dinner, but she prefered to just lay about. It wasn't exactly a very socially friendly way of living most of the time.

She spent a quiet Friday night, grading papers and watching some television, playing with Teddy a bit as well before she went to bed early. She slept in the next day, but was up by nine o'clock, having coffee and getting some more grading done that way the rest of her weekend would be work free. She was seated at her breakfast bar, a red pen in hand as she made corrections on an essay that was turned in. It was actually short by about a page, but she was grading it anyway.

It had been a quiet morning, but it was broken by the phone screeching to life. Liz put her pen down and got up, grabbing the phone and pressing the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Izz! How're you, darling?"

Elizabeth smile at the voice on the other end, she knew right away who it was. It was her cousin Charlie.

"I'm doing wonderful, Charlie, how're you, love?"

"I'm doing wonderful, as always. I wanted to know if you would come to dinner with me tonight since I'm in town for a few days?"

Elizabeth grinned. Going out anywhere with Charlie was always a bundle of fun, and she couldn't think of anything she'd rather do.

"Where are we going to dinner at?"

She asked.

"The Paper Lantern, it's Chinese food, sounds good, eh?"

"Actually, it does. What time, Charlie?"

Her cousin was quiet for a moment.

"How about six, we'll have time to eat and then if we want to paint the town red, we'll still have time?"

There was an obvious grin in his voice and Elizabeth laguhed.

"Sounds lovely."

"Izz, do me a favor, and don't dress boring, we're going to have fun tonight!"

They both laughed. They spent a few minutes chatting, Charlie telling Elizabeth exactly what she could and couldn't wear. She was laughing at him and his clear instructions before they both got off the phone. She had no problem finishing up her grading and spent an hour or so cleaning her house and then picked out her outfit for her outing, showering and french braiding her hair to keep it out of the way. She even did a bit of make up, the dark contrasting with her pale skin, make up wise as well as clothing wise.

Elizabeth was wearing a pair of dark, black jeans and a green tunic. She topped that off with a pair of boots with very little heel, she really didn't need to be any taller than she already was. She let Teddy out before she left and then got into her car, driving to the Paper Lanter and waiting in her car for her cousin. She didn't have to wait long because he came running up to her car right after he'd pulled into a parking space.

"That wasn't an outfit that we agreed you could wear, Elizabeth!"

He teased, and she just grinned.

"I guess I'm just not adept at following the rules, love."

She said, getting out of her car and hugging her cousin, while pecking him on the cheek.

"You don't look too bad, though, I suppose. So, how's Brett and his brood?"

"They're good, Sophie is getting big, and for some reason lately she's fixated on 'Aunt Lizzie'."

Elizabeth grinned.

"That has to be adorable."

He said as they were seated. They both ordered quickly and settled into chatting. It would be difficult for others to tell that they hadn't seen one another in several years. Charlie had an awesome job that allowed him to travel, while Elizabeth stayed put.

"So, you're a teacher. I still can't see it. How the hell can you teach?"

"IT's actually fairly easy. I like making the students think. They teach me new things all the time."

She told him with a grin as she munched on some broccoli. He just stared at her.

"Darling, you're far too smart. I bet you're the sexiest teacher at the school!"

Charlie joked. Elizabeth laughed. They were interrupted by someone walking up to the table.

"Can I take any of your dishes?"

The voice was deep and familiar to Elizabeth. She turned to the person and grinned.

"Well, hello again, Mr. Peace?"

She teased, he didn't grin wide at that, but the amusement shone in his eyes.

"You know him, Izz?"

"He's a friend of Zach's, he and I had some interesting conversation at Zach's wedding."

She filled in, picking up a few of the plates and offering them to Warren with a smile. He took them, narrowing his eyes at the man that was eating with Elizabeth. He couldn't help that he felt slightly jealous at the prospect that she was out with someone else.

"Oh, you probably think I'm incredibly rude. Warren, this is my cousin Charlie, Charlie, this is Warren Peace."

She introduced with a smile. Charlie was checking Warren out, which he realized after the man had looked him up and down. Charlie didn't say anything embarassing, though, which Elizabeth was glad for.

"Have you heard from Zach or Magenta?"

Elizabeth asked curiously. Warren nodded as he picked up the dishes.

"I suppose they'll get aorund to calling me. Thank you, Mr. Peace."

Warren was obviously annoyed at her calling him Mr. Peace, but he was amused as well. He walked away, toting the dishes. Charlie stared at her for a moment.

"You are a complete and utter idiot, love! He is positively scrumptious."

She laughed at that.

"Perhaps you're right, but, Charlie, he's one of Zach's friends, and I'm not going to chase after him, I'm content as I am."

Elizabeth might have found Warren attractive, but she wouldn't chase after him. There was no point in it. She wasn't starving for the attention of the opposite sex, and she could handle being single quite well. She did better single most of the time.

"You have to get his number! Izz, he's gorgeous and he's not too short for you either!"

She only snorted at that.

"Charlie, drop it, darling."

"You're no fun!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her cousin and snorted as she took out her wallet.

"Elizabeth Eileen Warren, don't you dare, this dinner was on me and you k new it was going to be on me!"

Charlie gout out, swatting at her hand. Liz couldn't help but laugh and shake her head, putting her wallet away.

"You are batty, Charlie."

Charlie only grinned as he got up, taking out his wallet and grabbing the check.

"I'm going to pay, I'll return momentarily!"

He stated dramatically, as Elizabeth laughed. She didn't think that he'd be up to anything but he was. Charlie found Warren easily. He'd already taken out a pen.

"I'm paying you for our check, and there's something you might want on the back of that."

Charlie said pointing to the paper he'd handed over. The man was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Warren lifted a brow at the man, holding hte money as he looked at the back of the receipt, seeing a name and phone number scrawled on the back.

_Elizabeth Warren_

_246-0822_

Warren had to hold back a smile, smirking slightly. Charlie winked.

"You better call her at some point, otherwise I'm going to be sorely disappointed!"

The two man shared a sort of look as Charlie walked away with a smirk. The two cousins left and had a drink before Elizabeth decided that she had to go home. Charlie pouted, but didn't mind too much.

Elizabeth unlocked her door and made her way inside, seeing that Teddy was lying sleep in the doorway, and stepping over him. The other thing she noticed was that her answer machine was blinking the number one, meaning she had a new message.


	3. What are your intentions

It All Started With A Wedding

Chapter 3

The Non-Date Date

"Sophie, don't you dare run that way, young lady, get back here!"

Elizabeth smiled, even through her warning. She was having fun playing with her niece at the park. She was actually really glad that she had agreed to watch Sophie. The girl was quite amusing and fun when she wasn't clinging to Liz's leg and screeching her name. She was a good kid, and Elizabeth knew that she needed to spend a lot more time with her in the future. She'd have to get her more often, and not just when her parents asked her to take care of her. She wouldn't mind thieving her on the weekends for a day or so. She was suer that Brett and Morgan wouldn't mind, either, they couldn't, considering they dealt with the girl every day, Liz was sure that they'd like a break.

The message that had been on the answering machine had obviously been from her brother and his wife. He'd wanted her to watch Sophie while they went out with Charlie. She didn't mind at all, really. She'd started the day out a bit worried that she wouldn't have any idea of how to get along with her niece, or what to do with her, but it wasn't nearly as hard as she'd assumed that it would be. She was rather glad that it wasn't difficult to get along with the child.

She had picked the girl up a little before noon to give Brett and Morgan enough time to relax and get ready without their daughter bouncing around and being in the way. She had figured that she could take Sophie to the park and play with her for a little while before taking her to get some food and then watching a movie until Brett and Morgan came to pick her up. It was a pretty good plan as far as she was concerned. Sophie was just glad that 'Aunt Lizzie' had decided to spend some time with her, and it didn't matter what the reason was, she'd agreed to spend time with her and she was ecstatic.

When Liz had picked Sophie up, the girl had been bouncing around and ran right to her, throwing her arms around the older woman's legs eagerly. Bret and Morgan had laughed at her reaction, it was rather amusing to see the small child hugging onto the tall woman's legs. She had told her aunt that she wasn't allowed to leave for a while and that she had to spend time with her, which had caused Elizabeth to laugh a bit and tell the young girl that she was taking her out today. Sophie had been so excited that she'd tried to run out of the house without putting on shoes. It was just cute.

The pair had gone to the park straight away. Elizabeth had donned a pair of cargoes, a comfortable t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. Sophie had been squealing at the fact that Aunt Lizzie was going to play with her. Elizabeth had pushed Sophie on the swings for quite some time and chased the girl around until she scurried up to slide down the slide. It was just fun to play. Elizabeth taught teenagers, who weren't amused so easily, and they definitely didn't have fun being chased around the park, or pushed on the swing.

They were a cute pair, though neither of them looked anything alike at all. Elizabeth had bright red hair that was vibrant and curly, trailing down to her lower back, and she was pale, but she wasn't concerned with it, really. She was getting slightly pink in the face and on her arms from running around with Sophie, and it was fun. Her features were thin and narrow, almost sharp in some manner and angular. Her nose was the only thing that didn't seem to be similar, it was much more of a button nose. Her height was something that was strange, though, she was 5'10". Sophie was opposite from her aunt. She had nicely tanned skin and chestnut hair that was cut short, in a childish bob, and straight for the most part. Her face was chubby, her baby fat not having been lost yet, she was short for her age, though. She hadn't reached a very good height yet, she wasn't chubby save for in the face, and it was all too adorable. She wasn't even showing any signs from having been in the sun for quite some time.

"Hey, kiddo, mind if your old Aunt Lizzie sits down for a little bit?"

"Don't leave me! We're having fun!"

"Poppet, I'm not leaving, I just need to sit down for a bit, love."

Sophie pouted and Elizabeth smiled at the girl, ruffling her hair while looking at her niece with fondness. Sophie smiled back and sighed.

"I guess."

"I'll be on that bench over there, love, stay where I can see you, darling."

Elizabeth told her with a smile. She made her way over to the bench and settled down, settling one leg under her to sit upon as she watched Sophie start talking to a few other kids, which resulted in them all running up the steps to slide down the slide. Children get along with such ease, but as they got older everything changed drastically. Teenagers weren't as open to making friends. It was pure and nice to see something so completely innocent and simple at hand.

Elizabeth was so focused on her thoughts and watching Sophie with the other children that she hadn't noticed that someone familiar had parked himself on a bench near by. It took her a few moments to realize the other presence was there. When she realized that someone was sitting on the other bench, she was a little confused as to why she saw Warren Peace sitting there silently reading. Elizabeth smiled as she stood up and sat down next to him with that smile in place, still able to see Sophie quite easily. She really wanted to be sure that she knew where exactly that little girl was. She didn't want to lose track of her for even a moment.

"So, Mr. Peace, what exactly are you doing here? Catching up on your reading?"

She teased, seeing that he was reading Field Notes From A Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. Wow. Elizabeth had to lift a brow at that. Who would willingly read that for leisure? She thought he must have been completely bored to read something so dry and sleep inducing.

"Yeah..."

He was a bit awkward. He looked like he was unsure for a moment before he hid it quite well. He was obviously not the most social person. Liz couldn't blame him, either, really, she knew the feeling, but her lack of social interaction had more to do with the fact that she chose to stay alone most of the time. She was actually a rather amusing person, and she could interact with people quite well when she wanted to.

"Your reading isn't exactly light. What on Earth would possess such a choice on a lovely day such as today?"

She teased with a friendly smile, and he actually smirked.

"Figured I better read something that was supposed to be important."

He shrugged, shutting the book and squeezing it without thinking. The book was paperback and bent every which way. It was rather amusing, for such a new book—it was quite tattered. Elizabeth only smiled and shook her head.

"As a teacher, I am qualified to assure you that reading such a book on a lovely day is simply not acceptable."

She stated in her best stern voice, and he chuckled and gave her an actual grin. And people thought that this man was dangerous and scary? He was a bit intimidating, but not really villainous or all that mean. She had heard rumors that he was a hothead, and that seemed to be partially true, but he really wasn't that bad. Maybe he was just a bit choosy about who he befriended and chose to speak with or befriend. Elizabeth could understand that, and from what she'd been told, since her colleagues had caught sight of her picture in the paper with Mr. Peace, about him hadn't been particularly flattering. She'd heard names thrown around, and had heard that he'd helped take down a few walls in the school. Elizabeth knew that things had been blown far pas something that was even remotely true. She was fairly certain of that, actually. He didn't seem like a man that was about to act as if he were psychotic or anything similar. It was idiotic how others could label so easily. Children were so much more simple.

"Yeah, and I bet you didn't give your students homework this weekend at all did you."

He stated sarcastically. Elizabeth grinned mischievously, he was right. She had given her students homework for the weekend. She highly doubted that any of them would be doing homework today, though.

"Okay, so I'm guilty of that, but that does not mean that I am wrong. I highly doubt any student of mine is working on an essay with the sun out and the temperature at such a lovely level."

Elizabeth grinned, peeking over to see Sophie slide down and squeal while her playmates were giggling.

"She yours?"

Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head.

"My niece, Sophie. She was excited to play with 'Aunt Lizzie' today, but old Aunt Lizzie needed a break."

Elizabeth grinned as Warren chuckled.

"Yeah, because you're ancient."

He deadpanned with a playful grin. Liz grinned back and shook her head.

"So, the Paper Lantern?"

"I was short on waiters that day."

He admitted with a rueful grin. Liz shook her head.

"You're the owner, then?"

"Partial owner, Miss Wu owns it, she's an old friend, and when she needed help, I couldn't say no."

Elizabeth couldn't help but remain smiling as Warren ran a hand through his hair, brushing it back. She thought that looked better when it was tied back, but it wasn't her hair.

"I imagine it is definitely interesting."

"Not really, and I only go in when I have to, I'm an editor too."

He admitted with a shrug, and Elizabeth grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like to read, so it fit."

Elizabeth snorted.

"I like to eat, but that doesn't mean that I should pick up a career in said field."

She joked and he grinned, amused at her comment.

"You're pretty smart, and logical. Do you teach tactics at the school?"

"No, I cover more aesthetic ideas in my class, though that is covered partially in my curriculum. Mine is the one that is taken before being partnered up anymore. And I teach a few P.E. Classes right now as well."

He looked shocked at her comment that she taught gym, of all classes.

"Are you serious? What about Boomer?"

"He stepped down and the classes are split between several teachers now, I'm covering the class two periods."

He shook his head.

"I feel sorry for you."

"It's not so bad, though I prefer to have intellectual conversation more than watching teenagers try to control their powers."

She admitted with a shrug. Warren had no chance to respond because Sophie came running up.

"Aunt Lizzie, I'm hungry! It's lunch time!"

"Splendid idea, poppet."

"Daddy calls me that too."

Sophie giggled and grinned looking over at Warren.

"I'm Sophie and that's my Aunt Lizzie."

"I know."

He replied with an awkward smile. Elizabeth chuckled and grinned.

"Sophie, this is Warren, he was at Uncle Zach's wedding, remember?"

The young girl thought for a few minutes and then grinned and nodded.

"He walked with you! And you danced, you looked pretty with him!"

Elizabeth laughed outright at that, and Warren actually grinned, even if it was a bit sheepishly.

"Well, Warren, I need to feed Sophie--"

"Aunt Lizzie can Warren eat with us?"

Elizabeth lifted a brow, confused. She then turned to Warren and lifted a brow curiously, as if asking him if he even wanted to. He grinned slightly.

"If your Aunt says that it's okay, it sounds...fun."

He said to the little girl, who grinned at him happily. She figured there was no way that Elizabeth could say no, and she really couldn't. It was actually nice for her to have an adult around after spending so much time in a day with a child.

"Sure, we'll go get something to eat and then, if you're good, poppet, we'll come back and play a while longer, eh?"

"YAY!"

Sophie jumped up, pumping her fists in the air. She was way too excited about Warren Peace coming to eat with us. There was no way that she should be that excited about a guy, especially since she was still young. Maybe she had a little kid crush on him, which could actually be kind of sweet and cute. It was amusing.

"The plan was for me to make lunch, but we could stop somewhere if you'd rather, Mr. Peace?"

Warren shot her a look. The Mr. Peace thing was slightly annoying, really. He didn't care for it, though it was definitely funny at first. He shot her a look and Elizabeth grinned impishly.

"We should just stop somewhere, it's easier than going all the way back to your place."

Warren shrugged. Sophie had climbed up onto the bench and was grinning. It took us a few moments, but we decided to eat at a local diner. It was inexpensive and they had items that Sophie wouldn't complain about as well. Warren seemed to be amuse by the little girl's antics. She had finally stopped getting so excited about 'Aunt Lizzie' and was now completely enamored of Mr. Peace!

Elizabeth couldn't help but grin. Sophie sat next to Mr. Peace bouncing slightly in her place in the booth, stuffing a French Fry into her mouth. Warren was munching on his burger quite contentedly, chuckling every once in a while at something Sophie said or did. She had been telling him about her schooling so far, and the fact that she was in ballet classes. Warren and Elizabeth were both amused by the girl, she was sweet and cute, naive, and completely unaffected by the prejudices of other people. She was more than happy to be seated next to Warren comfortably, enjoying lunch with her Aunt Lizzie and him. Elizabeth hadn't been sure whether or not Warren would be comfortable with the little girl around, but he'd handled the added little person quite well.

"So, how long do you have Sophie?"

Warren asked Elizabeth as the waitress sat the bill down on the table. Both Warren and Elizabeth reached for it and he batted at her hand. She didn't even pay any attention to his hand and snatched up the bill triumphantly.

"I'm keeping Sophie until her dad and mom get finished with dinner tonight."

Elizabeth said with a grin as she took out the cash to cover their food.

"You can't do that. You're emasculating me, Izz."

Warren stated with a slight frown. Elizabeth only shook her head. Sophie giggled.

"I told you that I was taking care of lunch. I was going to cook, but this was quicker and easier, so you're not allowed to pay, mister."

He blanched and then grinned.

"Fine, but you have to let me repay the favor. I get to take you out some night."

Elizabeth grinned.

"You name the time and place, Mr. Peace."

She said impishly as she took out the amount and got up, going to pay. Warren was smirking and Sophie was looking at him curiously.

"What are your in...in...tension... in tense... What're you going to do with my aunt?"

Warren chuckled. That was actually quite cute. He grinned.

"Kid, when you can say the word intention, I'll talk about it with you."

"Meanie."

Was her only response, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing, Aunt Lizzie! Are we going back to the park?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

"Sure, Warren it was nice to have you with us for lunch. You have--"

"I'm coming with you, I like playing at the park,"

He said with a smirk. That was how they spent several hours. Warren was actually much different than her first seemed. He chased both Elizabeth and Sophie around, and even picked Sophie up and twirled her around several times, though Elizabeth had refused to let him do so to her, and he hadn't done so yet because she was harder to catch.

Several hours had passed and Sophie was getting tired and worn out, Elizabeth was feeling a bit tuckered herself, so she stopped running from Warren, and actually didn't complain when he twirled her around, both of them sucking in air greedily.

"I think, we've had enough fun for one day. We're all tuckered out."

"Yeah, I've got to work tomorrow."

Warren sounded content, actually.

"You have my number, Mr. Peace."

"Warren."

He corrected. Elizabeth only grinned and hoisted Sophie up, balancing her on her hip as she walked towards her car. It wasn't long after they got home, Sophie dozing on the sofa, that Brett and Morgan picked the little girl up, amazed that she was all tuckered out.

Liz had been lying on her couch after that, resting when she got a phone call. A phone call that would really change things for her. A phone call that she'd been hoping to get.


End file.
